As Randy Newman sang more than 30 years ago in “You’ve Got a Friend in Me”: “Our friendship will never die,” — and neither will the Toy Story franchise.
Toy Story is one of the only film properties held sacred by every generation that has engaged with it. A child today can be planted in front of a TV, watch one of the original Toy Story movies, and instantly form a connection with the characters that they’ll hold onto for the rest of their lives. They can form that bond with the property and immediately hop on the bandwagon, complaining that Disney and Pixar keep making more of them, even though each prior entry has given the series a perfect ending.
These films and the delightful characters in them have been there for countless children and adults when they needed them the most. They remind us how wonderful it can be to be creative and use our imaginations to engage in the world around us. The latest feature in the series confronts the fact that technology has invaded the space that was once reserved for toys in a child’s development.
When Bonnie’s (Scarlett Spears) parents notice she’s been having difficulty making friends, they buy her a Lilypad (Greta Lee), the device that has completely taken over the lives of most kids Bonnie’s age. When she immediately becomes addicted to it, Jessie (Joan Cusack), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), and the rest of the gang worry that the glowing embrace of Lilypad’s screen will keep Bonnie from ever wanting to play with them again, spelling their doom as toys.
Aside from the once again gorgeously beautiful and life-like animation from Pixar, the main thing Toy Story 5 has going for it is that, for the first time since Toy Story 2 (1999), it really feels like Jessie’s movie. In the last two entries, Jessie was relegated to a supporting character at best, especially being given barely anything to do in Toy Story 4 (2019). The one definitive thing that entry did for the character, which set her up for her lead role in this new film, was to establish her bond with Bonnie. Jessie is for Bonnie what Woody (Tom Hanks) was for Andy in the first three movies. Their connection is what allowed Woody to make his departure in Toy Story 4.
When Jessie calls Woody back for help in dealing with Lilypad’s hold over Bonnie, I was worried he would steal her spotlight. However, his return ultimately serves as a supporting role that propels the gang’s narrative forward while Jessie and Bullseye are away on their own adventure.
After Jessie is separated from Bonnie in an effort to help her make friends, she ends up back in the home of her original owner, Emily, in a twist of fate. Although the home is now inhabited by an entirely new family, all the feelings Jessie has about Emily and how she abandoned her come rushing back to the surface. This aspect of Jessie’s journey is where some of the film’s most touching moments come into play.
One realization in particular is all the proof needed to make clear that the franchise’s magic is alive and well.
Along her quest, Jessie is forced to confront her negative feelings about tech and work with toys that utilize technology to find her way back to Bonnie. These new characters are some of the standouts of Toy Story 5, especially a potty training toy called Smarty Pants (Conan O’Brien). O’Brien hilariously voices the toy, designed to look like a roll of toilet paper, adding some of the best bits of adult humor. It’s at the time when he and the other tech toys enter the fold to help Jessie on her quest that the movie finds its stride.
With how disjointed much of co-writer/directors Andrew Stanton and McKenna Harris’ screenplay feels in the first half, it’s more difficult to engage with Toy Story 5 than it was with any of the previous entries. The thread that opens the film, in which a shipping crate full of hi-tech Buzz Lightyear toys washes up on a deserted island, especially feels completely out of place at first. Every time the movie cuts back to the Buzzes finding their way to where they need to go to move the plot forward, it inadvertently screeches the story to a halt. However, when they finally reach their admittedly humorous destination, they become a much more endearing and rousing inclusion.
In general, when all the different plot threads start meshing together and naturally building to a nexus point in the second half, the movie becomes a much more satisfying watch, even if you have to turn your brain off when it comes to how all of the different characters throughout the film are actually able to come together across what seem to be extremely long distances.
The classic Buzz Lightyear fans know and love is treated with much more intelligence and emotional depth than he was in Toy Story 4, which attempted to dumb down the character in a way that hadn’t quite matched the way he was presented in the first three films. His iconic dynamic with Woody takes center stage for much of their time together and feels like a refreshing reunion, considering they were largely separated during the toys’ last adventure. Allen and Hanks return to these roles with warmth and affection, making it feel like they never left. As one of cinema’s great duos, it was nostalgically fulfilling to see them share the screen again as much as they do.
A lot of the humor from Buzz this time around stems from him confronting the feelings he’s been harboring for Jessie since Toy Story 3 (2010). The conclusion of that thread is especially rewarding, considering it’s been brewing for almost 20 years now, no matter how random it might have felt back then.
Woody’s physical appearance is the main point of humor for his character. Now sporting a Clint Eastwood-like cowboy poncho, a beer belly, and a bald spot, Woody has seen better days, and the toys, especially Forky (Tony Hale), amusingly remind him of that every chance they get.
The greatest accomplishment of Toy Story 5 is how it justifies its existence. The way technology has invaded all aspects of our lives is a hot-button issue, especially when it relates to children. The movie navigates the subject with nuance, not necessarily villainizing tech, but showing how, if used and managed properly, it can enhance a child’s ability to connect and make friends.
The movie isn’t trying to preach about whether to embrace technology. It’s about embracing what makes you who you are and not conforming to a version of yourself that doesn’t feel authentic. Our imaginations are with us for exactly as long as we need them to be, and like our favorite toys, we keep our memories of them with us for the rest of our lives to pass on to future generations. While the modes through which we engage with our creative and imaginative sides may change over time, what will never change is our love of play.
Tackling complex ideas in ways that people of all ages can relate to has always been a hallmark of the franchise. Toy Story 5 retains the imagination that elevates these films even further to achieve all-time classic status. It’s more than a worthy Toy Story sequel. It’s a film filled with valuable lessons for kids and adults to leave the theater with, delivered by their favorite gang of old friends. I’d say Pixar can’t possibly deliver another film in the series of this high standard, but at this point, after two excellent sequels following the finale of a perfect trilogy, it would be more than welcome.
Review Courtesy of Evan Miller
Feature Image Credit to Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures